Method of displaying complex relationships

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus are provided for presenting structural relationships in an automatic contact distribution system. The method includes the steps of defining a plurality of structural elements within the automatic contact distribution system, selecting a structural element of the automatic contact distribution system as a root element, identifying any related elements of the plurality of elements that together with the selected element affect contact handling within the automatic contact distribution system and displaying the root element and related elements along with an indicia of the relationship between the root element and related elements.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention relates to contact centers and, moreparticularly, to methods of displaying relationships within the contactcenter.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The difficulty of providing information to users within interconnectedcomputer systems is generally known. One or more interconnectedcomputers are typically required whenever the task is too large for asingle computer or where specific tasks are handled by differentindependent systems and the activities of the computers must becoordinated.

Automatic call distributors (ACDs) are an example of such a situation.ACDs are typically used by telemarketers and/or service providers andare typically provided with a host computer that makes and receivescalls.

Within the ACD, workforce management, and performance optimizationsystems (operating within an ACD or otherwise) are examples of thedifferent tasks that may be distributed over a number of hosts. Inaddition to making and receiving calls, the host of an ACD may also actas a repository of customer records.

In order to reduce telephone costs, telemarketers often locate a numberof ACDs of an ACD system near major metropolitan areas. However, duringperiods of overload calls may be handled through any ACD of the ACDsystem. As a result, the host or hosts of each ACD must be accessiblefrom any agent station throughout the system.

While the interconnecting of hosts of ACDs works relatively well, theproblem of troubleshooting or finding information about call routing isdifficult to address. The difficulty often arises because of the need tohandle calls in a parallel process. Often the only way of providinginformation to the user in different databases of the system is tomanually access contact routing tables within each different host.

The need to manually access routing tables within different databases isslow and cumbersome. Because of the importance of ACDs and ofinterconnected computers, a need exists for a better method of providinginformation to users within such computer system.

SUMMARY

A method and apparatus are provided for presenting structuralrelationships in an automatic contact distribution system. The methodincludes the steps of defining a plurality of structural elements withinthe automatic contact distribution system, selecting a structuralelement of the automatic contact distribution system as a root element,identifying any related elements of the plurality of elements thattogether with the selected element affect contact handling within theautomatic contact distribution system and displaying the root elementand related elements along with an indicia of the relationship betweenthe root element and related elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts an automatic contact distribution system shown generallyin accordance with an illustrated embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 depicts a modeling selection screen that may be used by thesystem of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 depicts a screen that may be used by the system of FIG. 1 to showagent relationships;

FIG. 4 depicts a screen that may be used by the system of FIG. 1 to showa specific group relationship;

FIG. 5 depicts a screen that may be used by the system of FIG. 1 to showsystem group relationships;

FIG. 6 depicts a screen that may be used by the system of FIG. 1 to showa vector relationship;

FIG. 7 depicts a screen that may be used by the system of FIG. 1 to showclass of service relationships; and

FIG. 8 depicts a screen that may be used by the system of FIG. 1 to showsystem routing relationships.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AND ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an automatic contact distribution system 10shown generally in accordance with an illustrated embodiment of theinvention. Included within the automatic contact distribution system 10may be a number of automatic contact distributors 12, 14.

The automatic contact distributors 12, 14 may receive or initiatecontacts with clients 16, 18 under any of a number of different formats(e.g., switched circuit telephone calls, e-mail, chat, VoIP, etc.). Ineach case, contacts may be initially received by a switch. In the caseof switched circuit telephone calls, the calls may be initially receivedby a telephone switch 52. In the case of Internet contacts, the contactsmay be initially received by an Internet switch (e.g., a server) 53.

As contacts are delivered to the contact center system 10 through theInternet or PSTN 16, they are delivered along with call associatedinformation. In the case of a switched circuit call delivered throughthe PSTN, the contact associated information may be ANI or DNISinformation delivered in anticipation of delivery of the call. In thecase of e-mail, chat or VoIP, the contact associated information may bea URL or URI of a sender (found in a FROM field) and a destination URLor URI of a contact destination (found in a TO field).

Upon delivery of a contact to a contact center (e.g., 12) of the contactcenter system 10, the contact associated information may be saved in acontact file that is, in turn, delivered to a contact classificationprocessor 28. Contact classification is important because it allows thecontact to be grouped according to the skills required to handle thecontact. Contact classification by the classification processor 28, on afirst level, may be made based upon contact source and destinationinformation. On another level contact classification may be enhancedthrough the use of one or more routing vectors or scripts 38, 40.

Included within the contact routing vectors 38, 40 may one or morerouting steps 42, 44 that enhance contact classification. For example,at least one of the steps in the case of a switched circuit telephonecall may be to route the contact to an interactive voice response unit(IVR) 46. Within the IVR 46, one or more menus may be verbally presentedto a caller requesting information as to the purpose of the call. Thecaller may respond by stating the purpose or activating a key on his/hertelephone to further clarify the intent of the call.

To facilitate contact handling within the system 10, agents 20, 22, 24,26 may be grouped by skill into agent groups 48, 50. Contacts may firstbe assigned to a group, in general, and then to the first availableagent.

Moreover, agents may be assigned to more than one agent group to betterutilize the agent's time. For example, an agent may be assigned to oneor more primary agent groups because the agent is the most skilled inhandling calls to those groups. However, the agent may also be assignedto one or more secondary groups as a backup for the primary agents ofthat group during periods of overload and also to allow the agent toacquire the skills in handling contacts required for handling contactsdirected the secondary group.

In order to expedite transfer of contacts to agents 20, 22, 24, 26, anagent selection processor 30 may receive the classified contacts andassign each classified contact to one or more agent selectionapplications 32, 34 associated with the an agent group having therequired skills. The agent selection application 32, 34 may assign thecontact to the longest available agent 20, 22, 24, 26 or may place thecontact in a contact queue pending availability of an agent 20, 22, 24,26.

In general, if element A may route contacts to element B, directly orindirectly, then element A has a routing relationship with element B,and element B has a routing relationship with element A. If routingvector 38 queues a contact to an agent group 48 and agent group 48contains agents 20, 22, then routing vector 38 has a routingrelationship not only with agent group 48 but also with agents 20 and22. A change to the configuration of agent group 48 (by changing agentmembership) can change the routing relationships of routing vector 38.

Agents 20, 22, 24, 26 may interact with the contact centers 12, 14 andreceive contacts on any of a number of different conditions defined by aclass of service (COS) 52. Each agent may be assigned to exactly oneCOS, and each COS is comprised of many individual configuration items.On some particular types of ACDs (e.g., the Spectrum ACD) the COSdetermines whether or not an agent is able to make outcalls. The COS onparticular types of ACDs may also determine whether an agent is able tomake international out calls, etc.

While COS 52 may define the preferences of the agents 20, 22, 24, 26 inreceiving contacts, the COS 52 may also define the manner in which anagent may handle contacts. For example one COS 52 may require an agentto accept a new contact the instant an agent terminates a previouscontact. Other COSs may allow an agent to toggle a switch or softkeyindicating their willingness to accept a new contact before a newcontact is delivered to the agent. Still other COSs may allow an agentto refuse to accept a contact even after that contact has already beendelivered to the agent.

Configuration relationships of non-routing elements (e.g., COS) can beimportant in configuring routing rules and routing relationships. Inaddition, agent information groups, which are only reporting entities,are useful to have in such systems because reporting categories inrouting relationships often overlap. Such systems can only beeffectively managed by providing effective systems for monitoring andreporting.

Operating in the background may also be one or more call overflowprocessors 36. The call overflow processors 36 may monitor the time acontact remains in a queue and may transfer the contact to another agentgroup or contact center 12, 14 when the time in queue exceeds some timelimit.

Connected to the contact center system 10 may be one or more supervisorystations 56. The supervisory stations 56 may be connected to the contactcenters 12, 14 through the Internet 16 as shown in FIG. 1 or directly tothe individual contact centers 12, 14.

The supervisor stations 56 may be used for any of a number of purposes.For example, the supervisor stations 56 may be used for an of a numberof agent supervision functions (e.g., assisting agents, monitoring agentperformance, recording announcements, managing emergency recordings,etc.) or for troubleshooting the contact center system 10.

Included within the contact center system 10 is a system modelingapplication 58 used for modeling complex relationships of structuralelements within the contact center 10. As used herein, a structuralelement is a call handling resource or an attribute of the call handlingresource that defines how contacts are handled within the automaticcontact distributor.

The modeling system 58 may be located within the contact centers 12, 14or within one or more of the supervisory stations 56. The modelingsystem 58 may be structured as a stand-alone, single user application oras a server operating through a website.

In either case, the modeling system 58 may be controlled through agraphical user interface (GUI) that provides real time information aboutthe structural connectors of the contact center system 10 forsupervisory and troubleshooting purposes. The modeling system 58 is realtime because it operates in real time and relies upon the real timeprogram structure of the system 10 for modeling information.

FIG. 2 depicts a portion of a screen 100 that may appear on asupervisory station 56 for providing access to the modeling system 58.While the modeling system 58 could be accessed through a single softkeyor by directly activating the modeling system application 58, theapplication 58 may also be activated through a set of short cut softkeys102, 104, 106, 108 labeled CONTACT CLASS 102, AGENT GROUPS 104, ROUTING106 AND AGENTS 108 shown in FIG. 2.

To access the modeling system 58, a user may select a particularfunctional area of the contact center system 10 by activating theappropriate softkey 102, 104, 106, 108. For example, if the user shouldactivate the AGENTS softkey 108, then an agent modeling application 60within the modeling system 58 (operating under control of an agentfeatures list 62) may collect agent information from each of the contactcenters 12, 14. An agent features list 62 defines structural featuresand relationships of the selected element.

In this case, a feature of the AGENTS softkey 108 within the agentfeatures list 62 may require the collection of identifiers of each ofthe agents registered within the system 10 as well as any structuralfeature directly related to the agents (e.g., COS, primary groupassignment, secondary group assignment, etc.). In this case, a searchengine 64 may receive the features list 62, search for and retrieve anyagent files 48, 50. The search engine 64 may present the user with thescreen (screen #1) shown in FIG. 3.

As indicated by the header in screen #1, the four digit numbers areagent identifiers, the single digit number is the COS of the associatedagent and the three digit numbers are identifiers of primary andsecondary group assignments of the associated agent.

In general, the information provided by the modeling system 58 maypresent a selected call processing element on the upper left as the rootelement for the selection. Elements with routing or configurationrelationships to the selected element may be shown in the next column tothe right. (In this case, a COS is a configuration item of an agent, sothe agent has a configuration relationship with COS.) A routingrelationship between two elements means that one element (for example,an agent group) can route a call to another element (e.g., agent), ormay have a call routed to it by that element. Additional elements withrouting or configuration relationships to the selected element may belocated and displayed in later columns.

In screen #1, each of elements (i.e., the one, two and three digitnumbers) may be hyperlinks to other structural elements of the contactsystem 10. For example, if the user should activate the hyperlink 119(i.e., primary agent group 119), then the agent modeling application 60would collect and display structural elements associated with operationof the primary agent group 119.

Selection of agent group 119 may be useful in the event that group 119were to be overloaded. By selecting agent group 119, a user could easilyreview the number and identity of any agents assigned to the group 119.

In this case, the agent modeling application 60 may retrieve a groupfeatures list 66 specifying the features and structural elements to beretrieved and displayed in conjunction with the identified primary group119. The structural elements of the features list 66 may includeidentifiers of any agents 20, 22, 24, 26 assigned to the agent group119, identifiers of any agent assignment applications 32, 34 or routingvectors 38, 40 that route calls to the group 119 as well as a skill setrequired by the agent group.

The agent modeling application 60 may search the agent lists for agentsassigned to the group 119. The agent modeling application 60 may alsotransfer the group identifier 119 to a route modeling application 68. Inthis case, a features list of the route modeling application 68 for aspecific agent group 119 may require the collection of any routinginformation associated with the group 119.

The route modeling applications 68 may search any agent selectionapplications 32, 34 and routing vectors 40, 48 to identify any transfersteps (break points) that cause transfer of a contact to the group 119.The collected information may be displayed to the user as shown inscreen #2 (FIG. 4).

In this case, screen #2 shows that a call routed to agent group 119 willbe routed to, logged in and available to agents who are members of agentgroup 119, including agents 2111 and 2112. Screen #2 also shows thatrouting vector A, step 8, routing vector M, step 2 and routing vector N,step 18 routes contacts to group 119 and that agent assignmentapplication 12 (AA12), step 21 routes contacts to agent group 119.

Screen #2 shows (in a very simplistic example) that skill set 1 (SK1) isrequired for agent group 119. However, skill assignments can beestablished with a high degree of customization, assigning individualagents different levels of user-defined skill categories. As such, theskill set of screen #2 may be presented under a number of differentformats dependent upon the context.

Once the supervisor has reviewed the data on screen #2, the supervisormay become concerned that too many routing vectors are routing contactsto agent group 119 and may wish to look at other agent groups. In orderto do this, the supervisor may place his/her cursor over the heading(hyperlink) labeled AGENT GROUP in screen #2 (or the softkey labeledAGENT GROUPS 104 in FIG. 2) and activate the hyperlink. By doing so, thesupervisor may be presented with the screen #3 including all agentgroups as shown in FIG. 5.

Alternatively, the supervisor may suspect that routing vector A isrouting too many (or too few) contacts to group 119. To look at routingvector A, the supervisor may click on the entry (hyperlink) A/8 ineither screen #2 or #3. In response, a screen #4 may be displayed asshown below in FIG. 6.

In this example, the supervisor may observe that routing vector A routescontacts to groups 110, 114 in addition to group 119 or overflowscontacts to other automatic contact distributors 12, 14. The supervisormay also observe that routing vector A receives contacts from switchesS1, S4 and S10 and that contact classifications C2, C8 and C9 are routedfrom switches S1, S4 and S10 to routing vector A.

If the supervisor is still concerned about routing vector A, thesupervisor may click on the routing vector identifier (hyperlink) A inscreen #4. Upon clicking on the vector identifier A, the supervisor maybe taken to a vector editor where the supervisor can directly reviewand/or modify the steps of vector A (38, 40).

As another example, the user may select the hyperlink COS 1 in screen#1. Selection of a COS may be made by a supervisor in response to agentcomplaints about their ability to handle contacts through an agentterminal. Selection of a particular COS may be used by a supervisor tounderstand the capabilities assigned to a terminal being used by anagent.

In this case, the COS is a structural attribute of an agent 20, 22, 24,26. In this case, the agent modeling application 60 may retrieve a groupfunction list 66 that identifies any agent that receives the selectedCOS as being relevant to the selected COS. However, COS also affects howcontacts are delivered to agent groups and, therefore, the groupfunction list 66 may also require that agents identified with theselected COS also be shown with identifiers of the primary and secondaryagent groups assigned to the agent. In response, the data may bedisplayed as shown in screen #5 (FIG. 7).

After viewing screen #5, the supervisor may determine that one or moreagents have the wrong COS. After viewing screen #5, the supervisor maydetermine that one or more agents should be moved to a different COS. Inorder to modify these COS assignments, the supervisor may click on theheading (hyperlink) COS.

In another example, if a supervisor were to desire to look at routing ingeneral, then the supervisor may activate the softkey 106 labeledROUTING. If the supervisor should activate this softkey 106, thesupervisor may be taken to a screen #6 as shown below in FIG. 8.

As shown in screen #6, the first column may show a list of switches 52,53 present within the system 10. At least some of the switches (e.g.,PSTN1 (switch 52 in FIG. 1)) may receive switched circuit calls throughthe PSTN. Other switches (e.g., ISW3, ISW5 (switch 53 in FIG. 1)) mayreceive contacts through the Internet.

Shown in a second column from the left is a list of destination agentselection applications 32, 34 (e.g., ASA1, ASA2, ASA5, ASA8, ASA3, ASA7)to which the respective switches PSTN1, ISW3, ISW5 may route contacts.Shown in the third column is a list of routing vectors A, B, C, D, E, Fthat the switches 52, 53 also route to either directly or through theagent selection applications of column 2. Shown in the far right columnis a list of call classifications that cause contacts to be routed asshown.

It should also be noted that direct and indirect relationships may bedisplayed selectively. For example, if A routes to B, which isconfigured by C, then the relationship between A and C is indirect. Inthis case, the relationship of C to A may be displayed in a column ofindirect relationships along with the direct relationships in othercolumns. The column heading may indicate the relationship in any of anumber of ways (e.g., A routes to B, B is routed to/from A, A isconfigured by B, B is a member of A, etc.).

A specific embodiment of method and apparatus for displaying complexrelationships has been described for the purpose of illustrating themanner in which the invention is made and used. It should be understoodthat the implementation of other variations and modifications of theinvention and its various aspects will be apparent to one skilled in theart, and that the invention is not limited by the specific embodimentsdescribed. Therefore, it is contemplated to cover the present inventionand any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fallwithin the true spirit and scope of the basic underlying principlesdisclosed and claimed herein.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of presenting structuralrelationships in an automatic contact distribution system comprising:defining a plurality of structural elements within the automatic contactdistribution system; selecting a structural element of the automaticcontact distribution system as a root element; identifying any relatedelements of the plurality of structural elements that together with theselected element affect contact handling within the automatic contactdistribution system; and displaying on a user station the root elementand related elements along with an indicia of the relationship betweenthe root element and related elements including displaying at least oneof the displayed elements as a hyperlink to other elements of theplurality of structural elements such that activation of the hyperlinkinitiates display of other elements of the plurality of structuralelements associated with operation of the activated hyperlinked element.2. The method of presenting structural relationships as in claim 1wherein the plurality of structural elements further comprise at leasttwo selected from the group consisting of agents, agent groups, agentclass of service, routing vectors, switches, IVRs, agent selectionapplications, overflow vectors contact classification applications. 3.The method of presenting structural relationships as in claim 1 whereinthe indicia further comprises identifiers selected from the groupconsisting of agents, primary agent groups, secondary agent groups,routing vectors, locations within routing vectors, IVRs, agent selectionapplications, overflow vectors, contact classification applications. 4.The method of presenting structural relationships as in claim 1 furthercomprising displaying an element that is indirectly related to the rootelement.
 5. The method of presenting structural relationships as inclaim 1 further comprising displaying a configuration of the rootelement and displaying at least one heading as a hyperlinks which whenactivated by a user initiates display of other elements of the pluralityof structural elements related to the heading.
 6. The method ofpresenting structural relationships as in claim 1 further comprisingdefining the structural relationship based upon contact flow.
 7. Themethod of presenting structural relationships as in claim 6 wherein thecontact flow further comprises contact flow into or out of anapplication and the indicia an identifier of the application.
 8. Themethod of presenting structural relationships as in claim 6 wherein thecontact flow further comprises contact flow into or out of a switch andthe indicia an identifier of the switch.
 9. The method of presentingstructural relationships as in claim 6 wherein the indicia furthercomprises a source identifier of contacts routed to the selectedelement.
 10. The method of presenting structural relationships as inclaim 6 wherein the indicia further comprises a destination identifierof contacts routed from the selected element.
 11. The method ofpresenting structural relationships as in claim 1 further comprisingdefining the structural relationship based upon contact classification.12. The method of presenting structural relationships as in claim 11wherein the structural relationship further comprises contact groupsassigned to the contact classification.
 13. The method of presentingstructural relationships as in claim 12 wherein the structuralrelationship further comprises agents assigned to an agent group. 14.The method of presenting structural relationships as in claim 12 whereinthe structural relationship further comprises a class of service underwhich agents handle contacts.
 15. An apparatus for presenting structuralrelationships in an automatic contact distribution system comprising: aplurality of structural elements within the automatic contactdistribution system; means for selecting a structural element of theautomatic contact distribution system as a root element; means foridentifying any related elements of the plurality of structural elementsthat together with the selected element affect contact handling withinthe automatic contact distribution system; and means for displaying theroot element and related elements along with an indicia of therelationship between the root element and related elements includingdisplaying at least one of the displayed elements as a hyperlink toother elements of the plurality of structural elements such thatactivation of the hyperlink initiates display of other elements of theplurality of structural elements associated with operation of theactivated hyperlinked element.
 16. The apparatus for presentingstructural relationships as in claim 15 wherein the plurality ofstructural elements further comprise at least two selected from thegroup consisting of agents, agent groups, agent class of service,routing vectors, switches, IVRs, agent selection applications, overflowvectors and contact classification applications.
 17. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 15 wherein the indiciafurther comprises identifiers selected from the group consisting ofagents, primary agent groups, secondary agent groups, routing vectors,locations within routing vectors, IVRs, agent selection applications,overflow vectors, contact classification applications.
 18. The apparatusfor presenting structural relationships as in claim 15 wherein therelated elements further comprises an element indirectly related to theroot element.
 19. The apparatus for presenting structural relationshipsas in claim 15 wherein the related element further comprising aconfiguration of the root element.
 20. The apparatus for presentingstructural relationships as in claim 15 further comprising means fordefining the structural relationship based upon contact flow.
 21. Theapparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 20 whereinthe contact flow further comprises contact flow into or out of anapplication and the indicia an identifier of the application.
 22. Theapparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 20 whereinthe contact flow further comprises contact flow into or out of a switchand the indicia an identifier of the switch.
 23. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 20 wherein the indiciafurther comprises a source identifier of contacts routed to the selectedelement.
 24. The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as inclaim 20 wherein the indicia further comprises a destination identifierof contacts routed from the selected element.
 25. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 15 further comprisingdefining the structural relationship based upon contact classification.26. The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 25wherein the structural relationship further comprises contact groupsassigned to the contact classification.
 27. The apparatus for presentingstructural relationships as in claim 26 wherein the structuralrelationship further comprises agents assigned to an agent group. 28.The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 26wherein the structural relationship further comprises a class of serviceunder which agents handle contacts.
 29. An apparatus for presentingstructural relationships in an automatic contact distribution systemcomprising: a plurality of structural elements within the automaticcontact distribution system; a graphical user interface for selecting astructural element of the automatic contact distribution system as aroot element; a search engine that identifies any related elements ofthe plurality of structural elements that together with the selectedelement affect contact handling within the automatic contactdistribution system; and a display that displays the root element andrelated elements along with an indicia of the relationship between theroot element and related elements wherein at least one of the displayedelements is a hyperlink to other elements of the plurality of elementssuch that activation of the hyperlink by a user initiates display ofother elements of the plurality of structural elements associated withoperation of the activated hyperlink element.
 30. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 29 wherein the pluralityof structural elements further comprise at least two selected from thegroup consisting of agents, agent groups, agent class of service,routing vectors, switches, IVRs, agent selection applications, overflowvectors and contact classification applications.
 31. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 29 wherein the indiciafurther comprises identifiers selected from the group consisting ofagents, primary agent groups, secondary agent groups, routing vectors,locations within routing vectors, IVRs, agent selection applications,overflow vectors, contact classification applications.
 32. The apparatusfor presenting structural relationships as in claim 29 wherein therelated elements further comprises an element indirectly related to theroot element.
 33. The apparatus for presenting structural relationshipsas in claim 29 wherein the related element further comprising aconfiguration of the root element.
 34. The apparatus for presentingstructural relationships as in claim 29 further comprising a featureslist that defines the structural relationship based upon contact flow.35. The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 34wherein the contact flow further comprises contact flow into or out ofan application and the indicia an identifier of the application.
 36. Theapparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 34 whereinthe contact flow further comprises contact flow into or out of a switchand the indicia an identifier of the switch.
 37. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 34 wherein the indiciafurther comprises a source identifier of contacts routed to the selectedelement.
 38. The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as inclaim 34 wherein the indicia further comprises a destination identifierof contacts routed from the selected element.
 39. The apparatus forpresenting structural relationships as in claim 29 further comprisingdefining the structural relationship based upon contact classification.40. The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 39wherein the structural relationship further comprises contact groupsassigned to the contact classification.
 41. The apparatus for presentingstructural relationships as in claim 40 wherein the structuralrelationship further comprises agents assigned to an agent group. 42.The apparatus for presenting structural relationships as in claim 40wherein the structural relationship further comprises a class of serviceunder which agents handle contacts.